Apple wants to take the iPhone’s Maps app to the “next level”

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MacRumors has found about an Apple job listing that, uncharacteristically for Apple, hints at a possible mapping service from Apple. The company is seeking an iPhone Software Engineer that will join Apple’s team developing the Maps application for the iPhone OS. Apple says the chosen individual and his colleagues will be tasked to take the Maps app “the next level”:

We want to take Maps to the next level, rethink how users use Maps and change the way people find things. We want to do this in a seamless, highly interactive and enjoyable way. We’ve only just started.

Responsibilities for this position range from implementing low-level client/server code to implementing high-level user interfaces, new and innovative features, fixing problems, and enhancing the performance of Maps. The Maps team isn’t just responsible for the Maps application and MapKit framework, but also for the new Compass application as well as other location-based services on the iPhone and iPod touch.

Christian’s Opinion

Apple has quietly acquired mapping firm Placebase in early July. This mapping startup differentiated from Google with richer layers and deep customization options like private and public data sets, including commercial layers such as demographics and crime data.

I covered the Placebase acquisition two months ago and analyzed what it might mean, having concluded that Apple will probably develop its own mapping service that will allow the company to reduce its dependence on Google Maps.

Knowing that Apple likes controlling all the technological pieces that make up its product under one roof, it’s inevitable that Google Maps gets replaced by Apple’s own mapping service at some point, allowing Apple to bake custom mapping features into the iPhone OS at its own whim.

We’ve already seen increased competition between Google and Apple negatively impact Apple. For example, Google and Verizon launched Droid with Google Maps Navigation as the killer feature. Even though Google maintains it is working with Apple on integrating this new feature into the iPhone’s Maps app, the Droid has gotten it first.